Hello
35% is the withholding tax and you will get it back, if you will declare the dividend in your tax return.
Dividend is also your income, so it would be taxed like any other income at federal, canton and municipal levels. Income tax is mostly lower than 35%, may be that is what you mean by lower tax rate.
If your share in the company is more than 10% (so-called qualified participation), your will get some “discount”. For federal taxes, only 70% of the total dividend amount will be taken (30% discount). Cantons and municipalities have different rules but also give you some discount.
For example, the dividends are 100 CHF. You receive 65 CHF, because 35 CHF was withheld as withholding tax. In your tax return, you should declare 100 CHF with the note that the withholding tax has been paid. The tax office add 70 CHF to income for the federal tax basis and 50 CHF to the canton and municipal tax basis (if you are in Zurich). After calculating the tax amount to be paid tax office will deduct 35 CHF of withholding tax you already paid.
I hope I could explain this more or less understandably.
Best regards,
Alex
